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Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Well, a lot happened in the past week. You can go to all the standard outlets to read the updates. I'll link them in the left column under "latest stories". To give you a re-cap of key events, here we go:

1. Reggie Ball is looking more crisp in his passing. The players say it and even Coach Gailey has given him some props. He hasn't played mistake free ball, but isn't forcing as many acrobat catches by the WR core. However, some fans disagree, as he has thrown a couple of INT's and has forced some acrobatic catches at times. There's only one answer - gametime.

2. Looks like Patrick Clark has won the punt return job, with close competition from James Johnson. The kick-off return job is still in the air, with Choice, Woods, Scott and J.Johnson competing for that one.

3. True frosh Colin Peek continues to impress and has put pressure on George Cooper, who has been out with injury. Peek is clearly the #3 guy and could move up the list further if he continues making outstanding catches in scrimmage like he has, and keeps up his strong blocking ability.......... Also impressing from the frosh class is Michael Johnson, but his size may limit the PT this season. Well that and being 2nd team behind Eric Henderson......... It doesn't appear that many of the other true freshman will play large roles this season other than special teams. Of course, in theory we wouldn't want it any other way.

4. The running game continues to be a point of strength, with each of the 4 main backs bringing something slightly different to the game. But here's the reality - when gametime arrives, I think you'll see PJ Daniels getting most of the snaps. What will be fascinating to me is who will be running at the END of games. Daniels is talking again about how strong he feels at the end of the game, but if he's getting the snaps early, will Gailey look to keep him fresh for the end of the season, not the end of games? Is that when Tashard Choice kicks in? We'll see.

5. There has been some relief on the O-Line, with Nate McManus and Jacob Lonowski returning to the lineup. However, everyone's job is in the air right now. This group just hasn't "gelled" yet evidently. Matt Rhodes is not likely to return until this week..

6. KaMichael Hall has been practicing with the team, fully dressed out, but his mystery situation has not been resolved and his status for the season is still in question. In a scrimmage last week, Hall went overboard in a scuffle with Eddy Parker. Coach Gailey had to come all the way over to break it up, as Hall would not let it go. Hall ended up getting lectured by both Tenuta and Gailey. Frustration boiling over from his "situation"? Guess we'll just have to guess..............

7. David Jordan looks like he'll be the kick-off specialist and punter Ben Arndt looks like he has more confidence this season. Let's hope nothing happens to Travis Bell, because nobody has been that impressive as a backup PG kicker.

8. Auburn has been dealing with a lot of injuries of their own. Mostly nagging kind of stuff, not major, but still an issue. Even QB B.Cox sat out for awhile to rest a sore arm. Georgia Tech has now begun preparations for the Auburn game.